Hazard Recognition

Once you train yourself to spot hazards, you’ll notice them all around you. They may not always be obvious or immediate concerns, but they can still pose a risk to you and your coworkers. The sooner they’re fixed, the better.

• Spotting hazards is all about anticipation. Start to ask yourself, ‘If I take this action, what might happen?’
• This applies to everything from working in dangerous environments or servicing Powered Industrial Trucks, Industrial Batteries, or Docks & Overhead Doors to simply walking through the office.
• Picture yourself walking around a corner with your hands full. When you ask, ‘What might happen?’ you can anticipate risks like someone else turning the corner at the same time. Then you can take simple steps – like taking a wider turn – and completely avoid the risk.
• Plenty of hazards will be much more serious, but this same way of thinking can help you spot and avoid them. Just be willing to speak up when you see them to keep your coworkers safe.

See Hazards at Home 

How can we all prevent hazards? Once you see a hazard you should always notify your Supervisor/Manager of the hazard. Then we can begin with a Strategy for Safety by singling out the hazards before work starts with Identifying and mitigating exposures to occupational hazards before work begins. This should be the objective for us all. NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health) offers a basic outline through its interpretation of the Hierarchy of Controls. The hierarchy starts with the controls perceived to be most effective and moves down to those considered least effective. As defined by NIOSH, it flows as follows:

• Elimination – Physically remove the hazard
• Substitution – Replace the hazard
• Engineering controls – Isolate people from the hazard
• Administrative controls – Change the way people work
• Personal protective equipment– Protect the worker with PPE

For more information about partnering with Raymond Storage Concepts and how we can help with your training, contact us.